Ivana Beer is the drag persona of Jade Spoonheim, an ex-Dalmeny, Saskatchewan resident who now performs drag as a full-time performer in Saskatoon. Beer joined with Monday Dearest in drag last summer and discussed what lead her to the profession, how it’s currently going and the advice she has for their younger self.

Levesque: What are your current “in’s” and “out’s”?

Beer: My current in’s; Labubus, Fugglers, I’m really excited about the fact that children’s toys right now are monster themes. I think that’s so exciting. In’s; blue eyeshadow, red lipstick always, [red lipstick] will never be an out. In’s; blonde hair till I die. I had to do a group number one time and we all had to wear different hair, and the first thing I said when we met for the first time, I said, “So I’m blonde hair. Period.”

In’s right now; I like coffee. I like vaping when I’m in drag. My out of drag person, Jade, underneath this clowniness, doesn’t vape… Red Bull’s fire. It gives you wings, it keeps me going. In’s; ripped fishnets.

Out’s; Benson Boon doing backflips. Out; Cis men, cis straight men thinking they can even look at me… Metrosexual straight cis men, how very dare you?

Um, outs? I don’t know, I’m pretty chill… Out; Benson Boone, how dare you?

Levesque: Have you tried the Crumbl Cookie?

Beer: I didn’t try it. I wanted to make a TikTok of me trying it to the “Minions, tonight we go to the moonbeam ice cream” [audio]. But I didn’t and that’s really sad.

Levesque: What’s your favourite saying or vocal stim at the moment?

Beer: Unfortunately, probably moonbeam ice cream. The contradictory is on period… I usually have the vocal stim of the week… Bitch ass, yeah. Like, “What’s up bitch ass?”. Vocal stim, um, Diva Cup, yeah. Diva Cup as a nickname like, “How the hell are you doing Diva Cups?”. That’s been my vocal stim for the past three years. I’ve been trying to make it happen. And Gabby Windey recently named one of her podcasts [who’s this diva cup], so it’s happening.

Levesque: So you’re an Aquarius, what’s the most Aquarian thing about you?

Beer: Okay so I’m an Aquarius sun, Leo moon and Scorpio rising. I think that gets the people going. I used to be really into astrology but I’m kind of weirdly *pauses* what do you say? Like theatre adjacent of superstitious. I performed in one theater play in high school and ever since then the superstitions before performing has gotten like for real. So I don’t read into my astrology that much because I’m worried that if I read into it, it’ll come true… At the same time, I think [Aquarians] are crazy creative people, and I think that just speaks for my brand. I have no chill, I don’t stop working and I look like this. And for the people not in the room. I’m wearing an “Ivana fucking Beer” sweater with two pairs of fishnets and a clown necklace and tinsel hair and a beanie in the middle of a beautiful chai cafe. So, jazz hands.

Levesque: Which few items are in your bag at all times?

Beer: My day planner, I’ll pull it out for reference so we can talk about it in an ASMR way. I can’t go anywhere without my day planner, and every year I do my day planner differently. My day planner last was Lisa Frank themed, and this year I went through a sticker book and just picked out all of the stickers that spoke to me out of the sticker book… I’m not a phone person, so I always have like eight notebooks in my backpack at a time. I have an Edward Cullen themed pencil case that has anywhere from Scotch tape to White Out. But I need my day planner or else I won’t know where I am or who I am.

And then there’s [my keys], which is obnoxious but it’s plush themed. There’s three [Labubu’s] on it right now, two clown squish and a 1998 Furby that my partner got me from a flea market.

Levesque: Have you ever lost them?

Beer: I don’t lose them now. This used to be double the size but I decided to whittle it down to just the plush because I used to lose my keys all the time.

Levesque: You once posted on Facebook, “I’m sorry but regardless of anything I’m hot.”

Beer: Was this on my personal Facebook? *Laughs* Can we read the quote again?

Levesque: I’m sorry but regardless of anything, I’m so hot. Who were you apologizing to?

Beer: To all the people of Dalmeny, Saskatchewan. I grew up there. Thank you so much for pushing me to be outside of the box, regardless of you wanting me to come in the country box. But I’m sorry, I’m hot and I’m successful now and I hope y’all are happy. That’s camp.

Levesque: If you were a meme, what meme would you be?

Beer: I want to say that “I smell like beef” baby or the peanut butter baby. Yeah, like just covered head to toe in peanut butter or whatever that baby said. Like why am I covered in peanut butter right now?

Levesque: What is your personal definition of drag?

Beer: My personal definition of drag is; life changing. I literally was watching the finale of Drag Race while getting ready to come [to the interview], and every time I watch anything that intense, whether it’s regular Drag Race, I just start crying because I literally love drag so much. And I’m like, “I shouldn’t be crying right now I got places to be.”. But I think my personal definition of drag is if it’s for you it’ll change your life. I always wanted to find an artform that I could be successful at because I’ve always been creative, I’ve just never had a medium, and when I found drag I knew that this was for me. And I want to be the trashy next Trixie Mattel. Like the level of Trixie with the disgusting unseriousness of Katya. I feel like I want to be there and I will continue to manifest every day me getting there.

Levesque: What do those kind of manifestations look like?

Beer: Just saying it. Literally putting it out into existence and also just working really hard. I feel like I try and make as many opportunities for myself as I can cause we’re in Saskatoon. It’s really hard, there’s only a couple of us that are doing this really full time. And so I just work as hard as I possibly can and then speak it into existence.

My ex and I, when we were together, I needed some dental work done [and] I’m a struggling artist, so I just needed some root canals and shit and I grind my teeth aggressively so I probably need a professional mouth guard for that shit. And my partner was like, “You need to go get this done,” and I was like, “Babe it’s fine, when I’m a world famous drag queen, I’m going to get veneers.” And I’m just holding out for that.

Levesque: How did you decide on the name “Ivana Beer”?

Beer: Okay so I was between three names; Ivana Beer, Mia Weird and Dusty Disco. And at the time I was in a web design graphic design course… and so I drew out three logos for each of them and I sat on it and Ivana Beer felt right. I’ve always loved beer, I’m three years sober now, but I still drink non alcoholic beer and I still love the taste of it and I still love the craftiness behind it.

Levesque: What led you to drag?

Beer: In 2020, I worked at [a] music bar downtown and it was still lockdown times… It was just a couple of us to do covid protocol bartending, and a lot of drag performers used to perform there. And the first season of Canada’s drag race was starting that year and they wanted to do viewing parties. So they would come in full drag and watch drag race, they couldn’t perform [and] had to wear masks, it was really weird. But me and my best friend would also dress up, not in drag or anything, but we would tell the girls that we were doing a themed night. There was also a lot of drag kings there as well. We would tell all the drag performers that we were doing a theme and then sometimes they would dress on theme with us. And it got me introduced to all of them and it also kind of introduced me to drag for the first time… and then after I met them I went into college. I quit working just to focus on school and instead of focusing on college I focused on binging drag race and then I started doing drag in the middle of the night. It would take me eight hours to put on a really shitty beat and do a photoshoot after. And I’d be like, “I’m so sickening. My eyebrows are poking through and what is that wig? But I’m so fierce.”. And then I cooked for a year in my bedroom doing drag at night all the time and I started performing.

Levesque: Do you have a go to self care for the off days?

Beer: I read my own tarot and I also have a self care oracle deck… it gives me like a form of self care and then I’ll do that self care and it just helps me get out of bed or whatever.

Levesque: Do you have a favourite tarot card?

Beer: Probably the Magician because it’s drag-y. I also want to get a version of it tattooed.

Levesque: What advice do you have for your younger self?

Beer: Don’t try and be that boring straight girl that everyone around you wants you to be. I was so goofy as a young child, and during high school I wanted to be goofy but it was just a lot of country boys telling me not to listen to rap or a lot of girls that I was best friends with or grew up with that are in nursing now and married and have babies. And it was a lot of fighting that path, not letting myself fall into that small town role. So just be weird and you’re really gay. Like duh.

By: K. Levesque

IVANA BEER

TATI LESSA